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Worship & Music

St Paul’s Cathedral has been here for over 1,400 years. It has been built and rebuilt five times, and always its main purpose has been as a
place of worship and prayer.

Visit Us

St Paul's, with its world-famous dome, is an iconic feature of the London skyline. Step inside and you can enjoy the Cathedral's awe-inspiring
interior, and uncover fascinating stories about its history.

Learning & Faith

Lifelong learning is a core part of the our work, delivered through a variety of events by St Paul's Institute, and the
Cathedral's Adult Learning and Schools & Family Learning departments.

History & Collections

For more than 1,400 years, a Cathedral dedicated to St Paul has stood at the highest point in the City. The present Cathedral is the
masterpiece of Britain's most famous architect Sir Christopher Wren.

Support Us

Behind the scenes, the cost of caring for St Paul's and continuing to deliver our central ministry and work is enormous and the generosity of
our supporters is critical.

Venue Bookings

Widely considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful buildings and a powerful symbol of the splendour of London, St Paul’s Cathedral is a
breathtaking events venue.

The great paintings inside the dome of St Paul's are set to be saved from water damage after a £200,000 grant was awarded to the
Cathedral.

The huge murals by Sir James Thornhill, which depict the life of St Paul, will be protected from moisture as part of a wider scheme to repair the
Cathedral's Stone Gallery.

The award, from the government-sponsored First World War Cathedral Repairs Fund, will go towards undoing water damage across the Gallery, which is severely
affecting the Cathedral's dome, one of the most iconic landmarks on London's skyline.

The Stone Gallery forms a key part of the Cathedral's visitor experience and provides unrivalled vistas over London. It received an asphalte
coating more than a century ago in 1906, but that has now failed and moisture is escaping into the fabric in unwanted locations, with consequent
damage both internally and externally.

There is now a long-standing problem of saturation in the dome's supporting stone, but more pressing is the internal damage to the dome paintings.

Oliver Caroe, Surveyor to the Fabric of St Paul's, said: "The 1906 work to the Stone Gallery has failed, allowing water to damage the incomparable
Thornhill painting inside the Dome and causing serious long term damage to the Peristyle vaulting. This vital grant allows us to start a programme
of essential repairs to remedy a very challenging problem - but will only get us a quarter of the way around the gallery. There is still much more
to do to secure the complete gallery, and other leaking roofs of the Cathedral still await urgent attention.

The Stone Gallery repair project will involve:

The removal of the 1906 asphalte layer and exposure of the original Portland stone paving

The re-lining of the existing central gutter in steel sections

The widening of the rainwater outlets from the Stone Gallery, involving some adaptation of the stonework to widen the throat of the outlet to
improve hydrodynamic flow.

The formation of new rainwater overflow outlets from the Stone Gallery to reduce the likelihood of future rainwater ingress into the fabric,
involving diamond drilled penetrations of stone vaults.

Reinstating the tanking and paving the surface of the Stone Gallery

Shortening of lead rainwater pipes.

Tidying up and enhancing electrical services.

The phased closure of the Stone Gallery to enable works and associated access requirements.

Repair work to the entirety of St Paul's goes on at all times, with the money to do so raised almost exclusively by the activities of the
Cathedral, including from sightseers and generous donations.

The Reverend Canon Philippa Boardman, Treasurer of St Paul's said: "I am keenly aware that we need a total of some £20 million pounds for
pressing repairs to maintain this remarkable Cathedral building. This important £200,000 grant will help us to do urgent works to keep the Stone
Gallery watertight and to conserve it for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who climb up to it each year to enjoy.

St Paul's is one of 31 English Cathedrals to benefit from this round of funding.